Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine to discuss Strategic Direction of Bord Bia

Ahead of the meeting at 5.30pm in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Jackie Cahill said: “Ireland’s food, drink and horticulture sector has a world class reputation and plays an important role in our economy, generating billions in revenue and contributing tens of thousands of jobs across the country. Bord Bia is the semi-state body responsible for marketing and promoting Irish food, drink and horticulture worldwide based on sustainability, traceability and quality.

“The Committee welcomes this opportunity to meet with Mr O’Toole and his colleagues to discuss the strategic direction of Bord Bia. Members are particularly interested in discussing the promotion of Food Brand Ireland, Food Vision 2023 and Origin Green, including branding integrity issues, and Origin Green’s role in monitoring and driving improvements in terms of sustainability, trade customers and consumers.

“Other areas of interest include the status of the Grass Fed Beef, and Irish meat consumption and promotion in GB, EU, Asian and global market and indeed the Irish market itself; the marketing of organic produce; the Irish Horticultural fruit and veg sector plans for expansion within the domestic home market and Great Britain; and the potential of the sheep milk and farmhouse cheese sectors. The Committee look forward to a wide-ranging discussion on these and related matters.”

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.